Method of embedding thin wall tubular material in plastic under high pressure conditions

ABSTRACT

A method and means of embedding thin wall tubular material in plastic under high pressure conditions in disclosed herein. The means of this invention comprises a first plate means with a plurality of spaced apart studs extending upwardly therefrom which are adapted to support tubular members thereon in substantially vertically disposed position. A casting means is positioned above the first plate means and has a cavity formed therein which is adapted to receive casting material therein and which is adapted to receive the tubular members therein when the casting means is moved downwardly with respect to the first plate means. The casting means has a plurality of guide openings formed therein at the upper end of the cavity which are adapted to receive the tempered upper ends of the tubular members to properly position the same when the casting means is moved to its lower position. Heating elements are also provided to heat the casting material to cause the same to harden at the proper time. The method of embedding the tubular members in the casting material is disclosed with the method causing the tubular members to be properly positioned in a parallel, spaced apart manner so that the finished product can be used as a fluid manifold in an injection machine.

Dec. 11, 1973 Filed April 5, 1971 F. R. LADD METHOD OF EMBEDDlNG THINWALL TUBULAH MATERLAL IN UNDER HIGH PRESSURE CONDITONS PLASTIC 5Sheets-Sheet l III w Fzyfz /m/f/vro /CZaw Z gap #Trae/V545 Dec. l1, 1973F R LADD 3,778,496v

METHOD OF EMBEDDING THIN` WALL TUBULAR MATERIAL IN PLASTIC UNDER HIGHPRESSURE CONDITIONS Filed April 5, 1971 I5 Sheets-Sheet @Trae/vias Dec.1l, 1973 F R LADD 3,778,496

METHOD OF EMBEDDLNG THIN WALL TUBULAR MATERIAL IN PLASTIC UNDER HIGHPRESSURE CONDITIONS Filed April 5, 1971 3 .SheetS-Sheet l? /A/VEA/IaH05/ Z A90 United States Patent Oice 3,778,496 METHOD F EMBEDDING THINWALL TUBULAR MATERIAL IN PLASTIC UNDER HIGH PRES- SURE CONDITIONS FloydR. Ladd, West Des Moines, Iowa, assigner to Townsend EngineeringCompany, Des Moines, Iowa Filed Apr. 5, 1971, Ser. No. 131,022 i Int.Cl. B29d 3/00 U.S. Cl. 264-162 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Amethod and means of embedding thin wall tubular material in plasticunder high pressure conditions is disclosed herein. The means of thisinvention comprises a first plate means with a plurality of spaced apartstuds extending upwardly therefrom which are adapted to support tubularmembers thereon in a substantially vertically disposed position. Acasting means is positioned above the first plate means and has a cavityformed therein which is adapted to receive casting material therein andwhich is adapted to receive the tubular members therein when the castingmeans is moved downwardly with respect to the first plate means. Thecasting means has a plurality of guide openings formed therein at theupper end of the cavity which are adapted to receive the tapered upperends of the tubular members to properly position the same when thecasting means is moved to its lower position. Heating elements are alsolprovided to heat the casting material to cause the same to harden at theproper time. The method of embedding the tubular members in the castingmaterial is disclosed with the method causing the tubular members to beproperly positioned in a parallel, spaced apart manner so that thefinished product can be used as a fluid manifold in an injectionmachine.

Vthe fluid thereinto. The uid manifold has heretofore been constructedof stainless steel but is very expensive to manufacture. Additionally,it is extremely difficult to fabricate thel stainless steel fluidmanifolds due to the production problems associated therewith.

Therefore, it is a principal object of this invention to 'provide amethod and means of embedding thin wall tubular material in plasticunder high pressure conditions.

A further object of this invention is to provide a means for producing afluid manifold for a fluid injection machine.

A further object of this invention is to provide a method and means ofembedding tubular members in casting material wherein the tubularmembers are properly positioned in a parallel, spaced apartrelationship.

A further object of this invention is to provide a method and means ofembedding tubular members in casting material which is relativelyinexpensive of manufacture.

A further object of this invention is to provide an mproved method andmeans for manufacturing liiuid manifolds suitable for use withfa iiuidinjection machine.

' These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

This invention consists in the construction, arrangements andcombination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objectscontemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully setforth,specifically pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the means of this invention illustrating theupper die position in its upper position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 except that the upper die isillustrated in its lowered position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view seen along lines 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 except that the upper die and castingis illustrated in a partially lowered position;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIIG. 4 with the upper die and castingthereon being illustrated in its lowermost position;

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view of the finished productillustrating the excess casting material being removed from the tubularmembers and illustrating the manner in which the upper ends of thetubular members are ground down to expose the bore extendingtherethrough;

FIGS. 7-13 are side views depicting the sequential steps of the methodof this invention;

FIG. 14 is a bottom perspective view of the stripper plate associatedwith this invention; and

FIG. l5 is a perspective view of the finished product.

The numeral 10 refers generally to a molding or casting apparatusincluding a stationary lower die 12 and a movable upper die 14. Lowerdie 12 has a horizontal bed portion 15 and a plurality of guide rods 16extending upwardly therefrom. The upper die 14 is slidably mounted onthe rods 16 and is vertically movable by means of a power cylinder rod18 extending from an air or hydraulic cylinder means. The moldingapparatus thus described is conventional in design.

Plate 20 is secured to 4bed portion 15 by bolts, screws or othersuitable means and is provided with heating elements 22 extendingtherethrough as will be described in more detail hereinafter. A pair ofguide rods 24 and 26 are secured to the opposite ends of plate 20 andextend upwardly therefrom. Tube positioning plate 2S is secured bybolts, screws, or other suitable means to the plate 20 and has aplurality of spaced apart positioning studs 30 threadably securedthereto which extend upwardly therefrom. The studs 30 are adapted toreceive and support the thin wall tubes 32 thereon in the manner seen inFIG. 3. As seen in FIG. 3, an O-ring 34 extends around each of the studs34 with the lower ends of the tubes 32 resting on and being supported bythe `O-rings. Each of the tubes 32 includes a lower end 36, hollow bodyportion 38, and a tip portion 40 which is press fitted into the upperend of the body portion 38. Tip portion 40 includes a hollow tubularportion 42, shoulder 44, recessed area 46, tapered portion 48 and upperend 50. The tubular portion 42 is force-t into the body portion 38 asillustrated in FIG. 3 with shoulder 44 engaging the upper end of thebody portion 38. Tip portion 40 is provided with a bore 52 formedtherein, the lower end of which is in communication with the interior ofbody portion 38. The bore 52 does not extend through the upper end 50but terminates therebelow so that the bore 52 is initially blind. Thepurpose of the bore 52 being blind is to prevent plastic from enteringthe bore 52 during the molding operation.

The top plate portion 54 of adapter support S6 is bolted to upper die 14for movement therewith and includes a bottom plate portion 58 having asupport plate 60 secured thereto by bolts or screws 62. Support plate 60Vextends laterally of bottom plate portion 58 with suitable openingsbeing formed therein for receiving bolts 64 and 66. Guide plate 68 isprovided with a plurality of guide openings 70 formed therein whichcorrespond to the tubes 32 and which receive the same as seen in FIG. 5.Each of the guide openings 70 includes an enlarged diameter portion 74at its lower end which is slightly larger than the diameter of portion47 of tube 32. A plurality of spaced apart shims 76 are provided betweenthe plate 68 and plate 60 to provide vent openings between the plate 68and plate 60 so that excess molding or casting material may escape fromthe openings 70 during the molding operation.

Nuts 78 and 80 are threadably receivable on the bolts 64 and 66respectively to permit plate 68 to be secured to plate 60. Mold 82 issuitably secured to the underside of plate 68 and has a generallyrectangular opening or cavity 84 extending upwardly thereinto from itslower end 86. Shoulders or steps 88, 90 and 92 are provided at one sideof the cavity 84 in mold 82 while shoulders or steps 94, 96 and 98 areprovided at the other side of the cavity 84 in mold 82. Mold 82 is alsoprovided with an opening 100 at its upper end which communicates withthe openings 70 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Electrical heating elements102 extend through the mold 82 to heat the mold for the molding orcasting operation. Mold 82 also includes means at its opposite ends topermit the insertion of end castings 103 therein. The numeral 104designates a stripper plate having openings 106 and 108 at its oppositeends which are adapted to receive the bolts 64 and 66 thereinrespectively as will be described hereinafter. Stripper plate 104 has aplurality of stripper studs 109 extending downwardly therefrom whichcorrespond to and which are adapted to extend downwardly into theopenings 70 during the stripping operation to be described hereinafter.

The normal method of operation is as follows. The upper die 14 is movedto its uppermost position by means of the cylinder rod 18 so that theupper die 14 is positioned above the lower die 12 as illustrated in FIG.3. The required number of tubes 32 are placed on the studs 30 with thestuds 30 maintaining the tubes 32 in a substantially vertical positionsuch as also seen in FIG. 3. The numeral 110 designates the casting ormolding material and is preferably comprised of polyester resinreinforced with glass fibers, clay filler and limestone. Preferably, thematerial is comprised of 30% polyester resin, 30% glass fibers, 35% claymaterial and 5% limestone. It is recommended that the glass fibers havea length of approximately threeeighths inch. The material 110 ispreformed into the shape seen in FIG. 3 so that it has a substantiallyflat upper surface 112 tapered sides 114 and 116 and cavity 118 in itsbottom end. The material is placed on the tubes 32 as seen in FIG. 2with the cavity 118 serving to properly position the material 110 on thetubes and to prevent the tubes 32 from spreading.

The upper die 4 is then lowered from the position of r FIGS. 1 and 3 tothe position of FIG. 2. The position of FIG. 1 is also illustrated inFIG. 7 while the position of FIG. 2 is also illustrated in FIG. 8. Thelowering of the die 14 with respect to the die 12 causes the tubes 32 tobe embedded in the material 110 as seen in FIG. 4. It can be seen inFIG. 4 that the embedding of the tubes 32 in the material 110 causes thetubes 32 to be deflected from their vertical position and suchdeflection would create a serious problem if means were not provided tosubsequently align and straighten the tubes 32. Movement of the upperdie 14 from the position of FIG. 4 to the position of FIG. 5 causes thetapered upper ends of the tubes 32 to be initially received in theenlarged diameter portion 74 of the guide opening 70 which tends tostraighten and align the tubes 32. Further downward vertical movement ofthe mold 82 by the upper die 14 causes the upper ends of the tubes 32 tobe further received by the guide openings 70 with the portion 47 of tube32 being received by the enlarged diameter portion 74 to furtherposition and align the tubes 32 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The shoulders88 and 94 on the mold 82 engage the positioning plate 28 as seen in FIG.5 to limit the downward movement of the mold 82 with respect to thepositioning plate 28. FIG. 5 also illustrate that the tubes 32 causesome of the casting material to be 1- `4. ,Y i fforced upwardly into theguide openings 70 with the shims 76 providing suitable ventopeningsbetween the plates 60 and 68 so that excess casting material may escapetherefrom.

The heating elements 22 and 102 are preferably of the 7,000 watt Calrodtype which are electrically connected to thermostats adapted to heat themold 82 and plate 20 to 300 degrees F. Upper die 14 and the mold 82create approximately 1,000 pounds per square inch minimumcross-sectional pressure on the casting material with the heatingelements causing the polymerization and hardening of the material 110.The material begins to polymerize at 275 `degrees F. and the temperatureand pressure is maintained on the material 110 for approximately thirtyseconds which is suicient to cause the material to harden or set-up.

When the material 110 has hardened, the upper die 14 is moved from theposition of FIG. 8 to the position of FIG. 9 which causes the material110 and the tubes 32 embedded therein to be moved upwardly wih respectto the positioning plate 28 and the studs 30. The O-rings 34 remain onthe studs 30 as the tubes 32 are pulled upwardly therefrom. The mainpurposes for the O-rings 34 are t0 prevent molding material from passingupwardly between the studs and the tubes and to provide a certain amountof resilient support for the tubes. When the mold 82 has been raised tothe position illustrated in FIG. 9, suitable limit blocks are placedadjacent the positioning plate 28 so that the upper ends thereof willengage the lower end of the mold 82 when the mold 82 is moved from theposition of FIG. 9 to th`e position of FIG. 10. When the mold 82 hasbeen lowered to the position of FIG. 10, the nuts 78 and 80 are removedfrom the bolts 64 and 66 to permit the adapter support 56 and supportplate 60 to be moved upwardly with respect to the plate 68. The stripperplate 104 is then positioned above the guide' plate 68 so that theopenings 106 and 108 receive thebolts 64 and 66 with the stripper studs109 extending downwardly therefrom. As previously stated, the stripperstuds 109 correspond to the openings 70 in the guide plate 68. The upperdie 14 is then lowered from the position of FIG. 11 to the position ofFIG. 12 to cause the studs 109 to be received by the openings 70. Thestuds 109 engage the hardened material in the openings 70 and force theblock of hardened material from the casting 82. Upper die 14 is thenraised to the position of FIG. 13. The numeral 123 designates caps whichwere formed by hardening of the casting material in the openings 70 andwhich may be removed from the upper ends ofthe tubes 32 by simplypulling the same therefrom as illustrated in FIG. 6. The removing of thecaps 123 exposes the upper ends of the tubes 32 as also seen in FIG. 6.The recessed area 46 in the upper ends of the tubes 32 further aid inembedding the tubes 32 in the casting material. A milling cutter 125 isthen employed to grind down the upper ends of the tubes 32 so that thebore 52 extends through the upper end of the tube 32 as seen in FIG. 6.

The numeral 127 designates the nished product which is suitable for useas a lluid manifold on a fluid injection machine as previouslydescribed. The tubes 32 are embedded in the casting material in aparallel, spaced apart relationship so that the meat product will beproperly injected by injector needles which are mounted in the bores 52.The method described herein produces a fluid manifold at a much lesscostthan the previous stainless steel models and has the necessarystrength and durability to satisfactorily perform in service. Thus itcan be seen that the method and means accomplishes at least all of itsstated objectives.

I claim:

1. The method of embedding thin wall tubular members in plastic,comprising the following steps:

placing a plurality of tubular members in a substantially verticallydisposed position on a support means beneath a vertically movable moldmeans having a cavity formed therein extending upwardly thereinto forreceiving molding material therein, said mold means having guideopenings formed therein at the upper end of the cavity, placing a massof molding material in said cavity, lowering said mold means downwardlywith respect to said support means so that the tubular members arereceived by said cavity and so that the tubular members are embedded insaid molding material, said tubular members being deeeted from theirsubstantially vertically disposed position as they are embedded in saidmolding material, said mold means being lowered until the upper ends ofSaid tubular members are received by sai-d guide openings to straightenand align said tubular members into a vertical position, hardening saidmolding material, and removing the embedded tubular members from themold means. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said casting material isthen heated until the material hardens.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said tubular members each have a boreformed therein which is blind at the upper end and wherein the upperends of said tubular members are subsequently ground o to expose thebores there- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the hardened material isremoved from said cavity by exten-ding a plurality of stripping studsdownwardly through said guide openings to dislodge the upper ends ofsaid tubular members from said guide openings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,351,329 6/ 1944 Gerstenmaier264-275 X 1,935,942 11/ 1933 Conner 264-276 X 3,525,786 8/ 1970 Meyn264-277 X 3,241,845 3/ 1966 Smith et al 264-268 UX 2,669,753 2/ 1954Hormann 264-276 3,499,066 3/ 1970 Murray 264-277 2,677,855 5/ 1954Mallory 264-277 3,405,214 10/ 1968 Butts 264-276 X 3,516,753 6/ 1970Dickey 264--275 UX ROBERT F. WHITE, Primary Examiner A. M. SOKAL,Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 264-277, 334

